Is cholinergic neuropathy the same as autonomic dysfunction?
 

I was told I had autonomic problems. Based on my autonomic testing they found cholinergic neuropathy. Nothing was explained to me. I was just told that it was part of my SFN. I never really thought about it beyond autonomic problems. I can't find much on it. Yesterday I started to have itchy eyes and a bit of a sore throat. I have pretty rough nights as it is, so I figured I would try Nyquil (doxylamine). I looked up the drug so I could see if it would interact with my muscle relaxer if I were to need that for a muscle spasm, and instead I came across the term "anti cholinergic". Now I am even more confused about my diagnosis.

A cholinergic neuropathy affects the parasympathetic system mostly. If you look up cholinergic on Wiki, and parasympathetic also you will get explanations.

The parasympathetic system is what gets poisoned by pesticides.
Atropine, an anticholinergic drug is the antidote for this.

Have you followed the news about the family of four poisoned on vacation by a Terminex fumigation of the hotel?

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...gation-n336401

The update this week is that the teenage sons are still paralyzed, and require constant care. They stayed indoors longer than the parents, who were outside more often.

How is cholinergic pn different from pn? How was this tested? Tia

Cholinergic neuropathy is like a subset of autonomic neuropathy and has many of the same symptoms. The most common are extreme dry mouth/eyes, lack of sweating and GI dysmotility.

Here's a link that gives some info on various autonomic neuropathies...including cholinergic neuropathy.

http://www.medmerits.com/index.php/a...europathies/P2

Do you have very dry eyes/mouth and problems sweating and GI upset?

Yes all that except the mouth.

I have dry eyes and mouth and nose. Are they extreme? I don't know... I'm constantly rubbing my eyes, drinking water and trying to clear my nose. Do these things make me not functional? No. More annoying than anything else. My nose is clogged with boogers and it feels swollen inside like my nostrils are closing.

I have no idea about whether my bowels are different or not. I've always had issues where I get bouts of something similar to ibs. Am I constiapated? I don't know... There are days when I don't "go" but it doesn't bother me. Sometimes I get the " opposite" happening. But none of this bothers me and I don't really keep track of my movements. I mean isn't everybody like that? I Don't know... Does everybody go everyday? I guess I'm tying to say o don't know if I have an issue. Would u definitely know if u did?

Canagirl,

Have you had any autonomic testing?

The GI dysmotility is not just constipation...it's more about motility of the stomach (emptying). It causes early fullness (before you even finish normal size meal), bloating, fullness discomfort, nausea, etc.

Yes, You would know if you had issues. Things would bother you.
Eating would be incredibly taxing because your chewing, swallowing, and peristalsis would be impacted. It is terrible. It's not something you would not notice.

I might be a good idea if you, Healthgirl, get evaluated for myasthenia gravis.

Chewing and breathing are impacted by this autoimmune disease too. The neuromuscular junction runs on acetylcholine, and is affected by autoimmune antibodies.

We have an MG forum here on NT.

Here is their list of drugs to avoid:
http://dig.pharm.uic.edu/faq/myasthenia.aspx

For once I can say I don't have these symptoms! That sounds terrible. I hope these symptoms improve for you